The Baseball Ticker: Week of April 24, 2006

by Bryan Roth
April 24, 2006

Editor's note: We are starting an AHP Fantasy mailbag column so if you have any fantasy baseball questions please send Bryan a message at AHPfantasybaseball@hotmail.com

Two-start pitchers worth starting:
Curt Schilling (4/25 @ Cleveland, 4/30 @ Tampa Bay)
Mike Mussina (4/25 vs. Tampa Bay, 4/30 vs. Toronto)
Chris Carpenter (4/25 vs. Pittsburgh, 4/30 vs. Washinton)
Carlos Zambrano (4/24 vs. Florida, 4/30 vs. Milwaukee)
Brandon Webb (4/24 @ San Diego, 4/30 @ San Francisco)
Ervin Santana (4/24 vs. Detroit, 4/30 vs. Chicago White Sox)

You make the call:
Livan Hernandez (4/24 vs. Cincinnati, 4/29 @ St. Louis)
Joe Blanton (4/24 @ Texas, 4/30 @ Kansas City)
Derek Lowe (4/24 @ Houston, 4/30 @ San Diego)
Oliver Perez (4/24 @ St. Louis, 4/30 vs. Philadelphia)
Kevin Millwood (4/24 vs. Oakland, 4/30 @ Cleveland)
Matt Cain (4/24 vs. New York Mets, 4/30 vs. Arizona)
Vicente Padilla (4/25 vs. Oakland, 4/30 @ Cleveland)
Chris Capuano (4/24 vs. Atlanta, 4/30 @ Chicago)

Other two start pitchers:
Jon Garland (4/24 @ Seattle, 4/30 @ Los Angeles Angels)
Kenny Rogers (4/24 @ Los Angeles Angels, 4/30 vs. Minnesota)
Ryan Madson (4/25 vs. Colorado, 4/30 @ Pittsburgh)
Jamie Moyer (4/24 vs. Chicago White Sox, 4/30 @ Baltimore)
Kyle Davies (4/24 @ Milwaukee, 4/30 vs. New York Mets)
Scott Elarton (4/25 vs. Minnestoa, 4/30 vs. Oakland)
Andy Pettitte (4/24 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 4/30 @ Cincinnati)
Jeff Suppan (4/24 vs. Pittsburgh, 4/29 vs. Washington)
Jake Westbrook (4/25 vs. Boston, 4/30 vs. Texas)
Jason Vargas (4/24 @ Chicago, 4/30 vs. Colorado)
Zach Day (4/25 @ Philadelphia, 4/30 @ Florida)
Gavin Floyd (4/24 vs. Colorado, 4/29 @ Pittsburgh)
Doug Waechter (4/25 @ New York Yankees, 4/30 vs. Boston)
Josh Fogg (4/24 @ Philadelphia, 4/29 @ Florida)
Aaron Harang (4/24 @ Washington, 4/30 vs. Houson)
Tom Glavine (4/24 @ San Francisco, 4/30 @ Atlanta)
Chan Ho Park (4/24 vs. Arizona, 4/30 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers)
Billy Traber (4/25 vs. Cincinnati, 4/30 @ St. Louis)
Gustavo Chacin (4/25 vs. Baltimore, 4/30 @ New York Yankees)
Kyle Lohse (4/25 @ Kansas City, 4/30 @ Detroit)
Rodrigo Lopez (4/25 @ Toronto, 4/30 vs. Seattle)

At the hitter’s parks this week:
At Ameriquest Field in Texas: A’s (4/24-26)
At Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia: Rockies (4/24-27)
At Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati: Astros (4/28-30)

Playing seven games this week:
Cardinals, Nationals, Phillies and Angels.

Ratchet them up!

Bill Hall (2B/3B/SS, Brewers): This is completely dependent on how often Hall plays for the Brew Crew. Last year as a regular, he hit .291/.340/.495 with 17 home runs and 18 stolen bases. With the signing of Corey Koskie, Hall became the super-utility man that Ryan Freel has been for the Cincinnati Reds. Hall has played all three infield positions this season with regularity, spelling Koskie and Rickie Weeks the most. If he gets playing time as he has this past week, he’ll keep producing quality numbers.

Nick Johnson (1B, Nationals): When he was with the Yankees, there was never any doubt about his hitting ability. If he can just stay healthy for a season, he’s an above average first baseman. Everything’s going well so far - he hit .476/.560/.857 with two homers in the last week.

Jeff DaVanon (OF, Diamondbacks): The name might not stick out at you, but if you’re in the need of a filler outfielder, DaVanon might be the guy. His bat is hitting a sizzling .500 in the last week and he’s all but taken the starting center field job away from Eric Byrnes for the time being.

Rickie Weeks (2B, Brewers): He hasn’t hit any home runs in 2006, but it’s quickly looking like Weeks will score at least 100 runs. He’ll steal some bases along the way too.

Gabe Gross (OF, Brewers): After coming over in Lyle Overbay deal from Toronto, Gross wasn’t supposed to have a set place in the field. Well, he’s hit above .400 with three home runs in the past week and Ned Yost will keep playing him until he cools down. Not only that, but the Brewers will host a weak Atlanta pitching staff to start the week.

Chris Ray (RP, Orioles): You drafted him because he was the anointed closer in Baltimore and this week secured his spot for the rest of the season. Ray came through with two saves in the past seven days, but they were against the Angels and the high-powered Yankees offense.

Bronson Arroyo (SP, Reds): He’s back on the list again this week after another solid performance, this time an eight inning win at Milwaukee. Arroyo is now an undefeated 3-0, but has impressed the most with a 22/5 K:BB ratio. There is a red flag going up, though, as Arroyo has given up three home runs in his last 13 innings but pitches in Washington this week.

Mike Maroth (SP, Tigers): Has anyone else noticed the Maroth? He’s 3-0 with a 0.49 ERA in three starts. The luck might not last much longer, but ride him while he’s hot! Depending on how much rest Jim Leyland wants him to get, Maroth could pitch next at home against the Twins.

Woody Williams (SP, Padres): Since coming off the DL, Williams has been solid. He got two no decisions in the past week, but he did so while striking out 12 and with a 2.57 ERA. He’s pitching at PETCO this week, so start him.

Orlando Hernandez (SP, Diamondbacks): He has lost three straight starts, so why is he on this list? Well, he has a 26/8 K:BB radio, including 12 in the last week, and he’s pitching at either San Diego or San Francisco this week. It wouldn’t hurt to take a chance.

Ratchet them down!

Dan Johnson (1B, A’s): On the season, Johnson is hitting .098 with zero home runs. Not exactly the production you expect from your first baseman. He finally ended a 1-for-37 slump on Saturday, collecting three hits against the Angels. Don’t jump on his bandwagon yet.

Jose Reyes (SS, Mets): After his fast start, Reyes is cooling down fast. He hit .129/.182/.162 last week and is at .234/.272/.377 on the season. As long as he’s stealing bases, he’s valuable, but if you’ve got another option, don’t be afraid to use it for now.

Jeff Kent (2B, Dodgers): Kent is back on the list after hitting .118 since last Sunday. The reason you drafted Kent - his power - has been almost non-existent this season as he has only one home run and two doubles. It’s time to look into trade possibilities.

Todd Helton (1B, Rockies): He hit the DL this weekend with “stomach illness” but no one is believing it. For a guy who was Colorado’s version of the Iron Man for so many seasons, it seems weird for him to go down with a hurt tummy. I don’t like the way this looks.

Scott Rolen (3B, Cardinals): It has been a rough week for Rolen, who is currently in the midst of a 0-for-9 slump. If you got back a few games further, he’s 2-for-22 in his last seven games.

Roy Halladay (SP, Blue Jays): Even though he had a good outing against Boston following his return from the DL, he did give up six hits in only five innings. Plus, he faced a batting order that featured J.T. Snow, Dustan Mohr, Alex Cora and Josh Bard at the bottom and struck out only two batters all game. I’m not going to be impressed with Halladay until he proves he’s all the way back.

Brian Bannister (SP, Mets): He has pitched well, but has only lasted five innings his last two starts. He’s also walked 11 batters to eight whiffs this past week. He’ll be tested this week, so monitor him closely.

Fernando Rodney (RP, Tigers): Even though he picked up a save Saturday night, Rodney is temporarily done as Detroit’s closer with the return of Todd Jones. If you’ve got the space on your roster he’d be worth holding on to as he hasn’t given up a run in almost nine innings of work and he will most likely get the closer position back at some point this season.

Tim Worrell (RP, Giants): Armando Benitez is back, so Worrell will return to his set-up role. Both players blew a save on Friday, but there’s no question who is the closer on this team. As long as Benitez is healthy, he gets the call in the ninth.

Dan Miceli (RP, Devil Rays): Chad Orvella might have blown his first save opportunity against the Rangers, but he got the call and that’s what’s important. Miceli mustered pathetic totals while closing games for Tampa Bay and he’s all but officially finished.

If you have any fantasy baseball questions please send Bryan a message at AHPfantasybaseball@hotmail.com